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OU basketball with another needle-moving chance vs. Nebraska

Bob Przybyloby: Bob Przybylo4 hours agoBPrzybylo
Xzayvier Brown5
OU guard Xzayvier Brown. (Sarah Phipps - Imagn Images)

Another Saturday, another opportunity for OU basketball. Time to make the most of it this time around.

After a disappointing effort in a blowout loss to Gonzaga, here comes Nebraska. And we’re going to South Dakota and The Pentagon.

OU (2-1) vs. Nebraska (3-0) (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
When: 6 p.m.
TV: BTN (Big Ten Network)

But why? Looking at the OU schedule, and it’s one marquee non-conference neutral site game after another.

Head coach Porter Moser explained the logic.

“NIL money. You get a situation for buy games, you’ve gotta do it,” Moser told SoonerScoop. “It’s a chance to play good games that are going to be good resume games, but also, you get contracted to do stuff that’s going to help your NIL. We had to do that.

“It’ll be a quad-one game up there. Even though it’s a neutral game, it won’t be. But it’s another great opportunity. They’re really good. I’ve seen them once on tape, and Fred does a great job. They’ve got shooters everywhere.”

This is the second of many more to come, including Marquette (in Chicago), Arizona State (in Phoenix) and Bedlam vs. Oklahoma State (in Oklahoma City).

It’s only a brilliant strategy if OU can make it count. That first step must happen against the Cornhuskers.

Brown earning the trust

You can see the team still trying to figure out its identity. One thing that seems pretty clear? The ball will be in the hands of Xzayvier Brown.

And he has the trust.

“It’s huge. To have that ability to go downhill, I know Fears had that,” Moser said. “To be able to break down that defense and get you out of trouble. He can get us out of trouble. Especially doing that when they went to man to man… when they went to that zone, they were just putting three guys… so it’s hard… that’s when you have to get it out and then attack. X is super valuable to us. He’s a veteran guard. He played the most minutes — that can kind of show you what I think of him.”

Brown went 33 minutes in OU’s victory Tuesday. After a five-turnover outing vs. the Zags, he didn’t give it away once. He added 19 points with four rebounds, three assists and four steals.

Brown is the only one of the four transfers to not have Power Four experience. He can play well in games like Tuesday, sure, but the real test? Can Brown still be as effective, as efficient when OU plays games like Nebraska? Let’s find out.

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